Around December 1, 1832

In this day and age, newspapers rarely print fiction. Of course, there is the occasional magical story written by a third grade class that appears every once a week in the Arts and Entertainment section of the paper, but for the most part, fictional stories of real substance are not published in newspapers anymore. This was not the case in the 1800's. Appearing in The Valley Star each week was...

Angered by a set of tariffs passed by the Federal Government that protected the interests of northern merchants without benefitting the South at all, the South Carolina state convention met in Columbia on November 19, 1832 and adopted a statement declaring the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 "null and void" within South Carolina. Former state senator Thomas Grimk… felt this action was completely uncalled...

Thomas Grimk… wrote a letter to John C. Calhoun to persuade him to calm southerners as tensions were rising between north and south. He tries to flatter Calhoun with his many titles, Congressman, Senator, Vice-President, and he tells Calhoun that the south will listen and reason with him, "They are, in the estimate of the Union, at least, but the invisible satellites of your superior station and...

The Alexandria Gazette, a newspaper of Alexandria, Virginia, published a small advertisement for "200 Negroes" on December 3, 1832. This ad placed by slave traders Franklin and Armfield, requested slaves between "12 to 25 years of age, field hands, also mechanics of every description;" they were "determined to give higher prices for slaves than any (other) purchasers..." This small...

On December 4, 1832, The Richmond Enquirer devoted several pages of its newspaper to discussion of the recent nullification crisis. In one of the articles, the editorial staff of the Enquirer expressed their feelings about nullification. The editorial staff of the Enquirer stated that although "from the moment this paper saw the light, it has been the devoted friend of the Rights of the States,"...

On December 5, 1832 Reverend James M. Chiles wrote a letter to fellow South Carolinian Reverend James C. Furman detailing the health of Chiles' family and the surge of religious revival in his area. Chiles began the letter with an apology that it had taken him so long to respond offering the explanation that he had been close to death and his youngest sister had died. Joy and sorrow flowed...

After his re-election, President Andrew Jackson faced an immediate attack at the authority of the government of the United States. The economic deeds of the summer of 1832 did not prevent Jackson's return to office, but, at the same time, they did not go unnoticed. A huge movement against the Tariff of 1832 was headed by the state of South Carolina. The state believed that this tariff was extremely...

"A Voice from Louisa" wrote to the Richmond Enquirer in December 1832 with the hope that a man like John Tyler would not be elected as a United States Senator once again. Instead, the writer expressed the importance of knowing the "political creed" of the candidates, as this was the only way to ensure the election of a senator who truly supported President Andrew Jackson and...

"They have gone so far, that it is even more difficult to recede than go on; and they had rather see the Union dissolved tomorrow than that their own proposition should be accepted," proclaimed the Lynchburg Virginian in reference to South Carolina's actions in December 1832. It all began in 1828 when Congress enacted the so-called Tariff of Abominations. Many Southerners thought the highly...

The crisis threatened to tear the nation apart. This crisis was the passage of the Nullification Ordinances by the South Carolina State Assembly in November of 1832. The unity and survival of the nation depended upon President Andrew Jackson's response. On December 10, 1832, President Jackson presented his response to the Congress, arguing that the justification for state nullification...